Eugene Horbach

Horbach was born of Ukrainian stock in Klicz, Poland. He was the only child of Luba and Nikifore Horbach.[1] Horbach was 12 years old at the onset of World War II. It has been reported that he spent years in either a refugee camp or a forced-labor camp. He graduated from the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt (today Technische Universität Darmstadt) in 1950 before moving to the United States and serving in the US Army for two years.[2] Horbachthen married Joyce Saari, and the couple moved to Bellevue, Washington in 1953.

He began his career in the 1960s by founding E&H Properties and developing properties throughout the western United States.[1] In the 1980s, Horbach and Seattle developer Michael R. Mastro built office buildings for Boeing in south King County, Washington. Mastro estimated that they sold between $250 million and $300 million to the company.[2]

He was active in Bellevue as it grew during the 1990s. During the dot-com boom, he planned a mixed-use project over a multiple-acre superblock that he had spent 17 years acquiring. He also planned the state of the art Technology Tower.[3] He experienced financial difficulties and his projects stalled with the collapse of the dot-com bubble. He sold most of the superblock to finance construction of the ailing Technology Tower and placed at least two properties in Salt Lake City in bankruptcy protection.[4]

Horbach and his wife had two daughters and one son. He served as president of the local Ukrainian Trinity Orthodox Church, was a supporter of the Seattle Symphony and a benefactor of the Holy Rosary Catholic parish.[1] He died at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center on January 1, 2004 from complications suffered after a fall.[2]